Brew A Better Cup of Coffee with JavaPresse!

Here at Brewing Wisdom, we love our coffee. We have only just started to explore the vast ocean of coffee beans, equipment and brewing methods. Today, we are thrilled to bring you two pieces of simple coffee brewing equipment that can help take your coffee to the next level. The more that we read and experiment with coffee here at home, the more that we realize that there are many facets to brewing a delicious cup of coffee! Here are 3 to start with today:

Grinding beans just before brewing almost always beats pre-ground beans.

The size of the grounds makes a huge difference in taste depending on how you brew your coffee.

The greater attention you pay to detail, the better your cup of coffee will be.

The equipment that we will be looking at today will help to accomplish all 3 of those aspects of making a better cup of coffee. Let’s dive in!

Disclosure: “We were given the JavaPresse Manual Burr Coffee Grinder and Pour Over Dripper to review for the JavaPresse Coffee Company. Although the products were a gift, our opinions in this review remain our own and we were in no way influenced by the company. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.”

The Pour Over Dripper arrived and was packed simply and safely. After removing the dripper from the protective packaging, we immediately noticed how durable it felt. Many coffee drippers are made of ceramic or glass, but this one is made of stainless steel and just feels rugged. The metal filter is porous enough to let liquid and oils through, but it will catch nearly all of the rest of the bean.

The base of the dripper is large enough to fit the biggest mug that I have in the cabinet. Additionally, the 4 cut outs around where the filter is riveted to the base allows for easy viewing of the level of coffee in the cup to help prevent spills. That’s handy!

The Manual Burr Coffee Grinder is also made of stainless steel, with the ground coffee bin insert and the knob on the handle being made of hardened plastic. We’ve used the grinder extensively since receiving it and I’m thoroughly impressed with how simple, but tough it is. It honestly feels like you could take the grinder anywhere in any weather and it would perform like a champion.

This is the coffee grinder broken down into its 4 main components. The handle is on the far left, and it’s what you use to turn the burr to grind the coffee. Next is the cap to prevent beans from falling out of the hopper. Next is the hopper and grinding burr assembly combined. The beans are poured into here and fall deeper into the ceramic burrs as you grind. Finally, the far right is the ground coffee bin for catching your soon to be brewed coffee grounds.

The coffee ground adjustment knob sits at the bottom of the grinder. In the photo, you can see grooves in the ceramic burrs. As you twist the black knob clockwise, the ceramic pieces move closer and force a smaller ground size. As you twist the knob, you can feel ‘clicks’ to allow you to more easily determine how far you’ve adjusted it.

Together, the manual burr coffee grinder and the pour over dripper can be used to turn coffee beans into a delicious cup of coffee.

We’ve ground up about 3 tablespoons of coffee grounds and placed the grounds in the pour over dripper. The dripper has been set on the mug.

The water has just come off of boil, and we’re waiting about 30 seconds for it to cool to the proper temperature.

We’ve poured the initial water into the pour over dripper to cover all of the grounds. The coffee is now ‘blooming’ as the gas is escaping from the beans. Also, it should be noted that at this point the smell that is just reaching your nose is heavenly!

After letting the coffee bloom for 30 seconds, we continue pouring the water in a spiral motion over the grounds until we’ve poured enough in to fill the coffee cup.

The hot water is now almost completely drained and we’re almost ready to drink!

Enjoy!

Shown in the image above are 5 sample levels of grind that the manual burr coffee grinder is able to produce. On the far left, is the closest that the ceramic grinding burrs can be together. If you twist the adjustment knob all the way it can go clockwise, the grounds will look like this. Each pile to the right is an adjustment of 5 ‘clicks’ counter-clockwise with the far right pile being the largest size grind that it can produce.

This is a close-up of the first 3 ground samples.

This is a close-up of the last 3 ground samples. The first pile here is the same as the last pile in the previous image.

Both the pour over dripper and the manual coffee grinder from JavaPresse performed admirably. It should be noted that after each use of the pour over dripper, you must wash it with hot water and soap. The only downside to the pour over dripper is the cleaning required versus using a paper filter on other pour over dripper models. We found the best thing when doing a pour over brew is to start heating the water, and then start grinding the beans to pass the time. The manual coffee grinder is adjustable enough to handle any grind sizes from espresso to French press. For a single mug of coffee, you can expect to grind beans for about 30 seconds at a “kosher salt” sized grind level. When you are grinding the beans, occasionally hold your finger over the handle and shake it while lightly smacking the grinder against the palm of your hand. This will shake loose any beans that get caught and allow for easier grinding. Finally, when you need to clean your coffee grinder try grinding some uncooked white rice. It does a great job removing oil and debris from the grinding burrs. Your grinder will need to be cleaned every few weeks, and especially when switching types of beans.

If you’re looking to brew a better cup of coffee without wrecking the budget, seriously consider picking one or both of these up. You can find links to them just below!